Councils
Invercargill City Councillors have today voted to include key projects in the 2018-2028 Long-term Plan (LTP).
The LTP sets out Council’s vision for the next 10 years, and examines the projects and services the Council will deliver during those 10 years.
At an Extraordinary meeting today, the Council approved funding for many key projects, based on submissions received on the LTP Consultation Document and hearings for those submissions held earlier this month.
The final LTP Document will incorporate today’s decisions, and will be subject to audit before adoption.
Council today approved a rates increase of 4.91 per cent for the 2018/2019 year. Projected rates increases for the following nine years will be confirmed and provided in the final LTP Document.
echo adrotate_group(4, array("fallback" => 0, "weight" => 0, "site" => "no")); During consultation, the Southland Museum and Art Gallery was closed to the public due to safety concerns, and many submissions called for Council to work towards reopening the museum as soon as possible.
Mayor Tim Shadbolt said: “there has been robust debate both within the Council Chamber and the wider community, and this is a healthy sign of a city where democracy thrives.”
Chief Executive Clare Hadley said the LTP Consultation Document had proposed money be set aside for redevelopment of the museum in 2027/2028. However, as a result of the closure of the museum during consultation, there was an “overwhelming consensus” from submitters that the museum should be prioritised by Council.
“As a result of these submissions, staff recommended funding be brought forward to 2021/2022 and 2022/2023,” Mrs Hadley said.
“This reflects the desire for swift action to be taken, while still allowing time for preparation of a robust project to be delivered.”
Council approved this recommendation, and grants of $9.5 million, spread over those years, will be budgeted for museum redevelopment.
Mrs Hadley said more than 400 submissions were received on the LTP Consultation Document, which provided excellent guidance from the community on what they felt should be prioritised by Council during the next 10 years.
“We’re grateful to all those people who took the time to provide a submission, and to those who spoke to their submissions during hearings,” Mrs Hadley said.
Final financial implications will be presented to Council on 22 May for approval prior to our audit process.
The Long-term Plan will be adopted on 26 June 2018 following audit by Audit New Zealand.